Rumours last week suggested the club will move for Miller. Others are watching and probably have been, for a while. For someone so young, there is a fair amount to watch. At 18, Miller has played 63 times for the Lanarkshire club, he is now their captain and on the verge of a full international call up for Scotland. It comes as no surprise he is highly coveted. Along with Celtic and Rangers, scouts from five English Premier League clubs, were in attendance for his Scotland Under 19s run out recently. His signature will be fiercely contested and Celtic should make him a priority.
Numerically, five players compete for three spots in Celtic’s midfield but this can change. Reo Hatate never seems too far from a move and Bernardo or Engels are prime candidates to be developed and sold in the next two seasons. Association trained, west of Scotland raised, as a signing and succession plan it’s perfect on paper. Players are not “ever-present” forever. McGregor turns 32 in June, having already banked the best part of 600 games in his career. When he is 35, Miller will only be 21. The logic here is blunt and hard to miss.
His attacking output is strong, 6 assists in 19 games (Joint 1st with Kuhn), he’s currently 2nd in big chances created and top 10 for expected assists. We’ve seen this at first hand in last February’s 3-1 win at Fir Park. Miller left McGregor for dead with a smart 180 turn, before producing a reversed ball, to the edge of the box for Motherwell’s opener. Off the ball, he works hard, winning the ball back often and making interceptions. Miller at 18, displays an all-round skill set for a central midfielder, not entirely defined and one that Brendan Rodgers can help shape.
This entirely hinges on the market and eventual price Motherwell demand but Celtic should be investing in the best Scottish talent, one way or the other. Ideally, we would make our own – usually in England before their 17th birthday - but in their absence, we shouldn’t scoff at the idea of paying for them. Miller, if successful, will be turned for profit. Cut and dried, no doubt about it. The clubs watching him now, will watch him when he’s 21/22.
I hate to mention it, but John McGinn. Added to that, the flourishing diaspora of young Scottish players; shows a few examples of “low-hanging” picks that got away. For me, not signing Hickey was a bit of a scandal. The fact it’s the Scottish Premiership does not make a £5/6million fee more of a risk than signing an 18-year-old from Holland/Belgium or Portugal. Scott Brown cost £4.4 million 17 years ago.
Take the risk, while we still can.